


The Mysterious Monolith

by seriesly



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 13th Doctor - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Romance, Self-Insert, mysterious monolith in utah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28246431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seriesly/pseuds/seriesly
Summary: The story of how a monolith ended up in the middle of nowhere in Utahor alternatively:You didn't even have the time to process the situation, when you were already teleported away.The terror was written over all of their faces when the fam saw you disappearing without a sound. But worst of all was the Doctor; the Oncoming Storm in her eyes. In a series on clicks, whirrs and shifts, the Doctor did something with her sonic that left the natives suddenly unarmed. She raised her sonic like a weapon against them."I will give you one chance. What did you do to my friend?!"
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Reader, Thirteenth Doctor/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	The Mysterious Monolith

**Author's Note:**

> So I read this article about those weird monoliths that keep appearing around the earth, with the one in Utah being the first one to be discovered. Somehow my brain decided that it would make a great plot for a dream. I thought the idea wasn't so bad, so I took the day to write it down. Also the monolith in my story is way bigger.
> 
> I dream about weird stuff. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

The sun burned down on the vast orange landscape. There were no significant hills, no objects or people to keep your mind occupied for the time being. On the horizon you were able to see some cliffs and rock formations, but the harder to tried to make out new angles and drops in your boredom, the more it seemed to blur.  
The most interesting around here was you. Well, you and your monolith.

You've been sitting on top of your monolith for two, maybe three hours now, staring into the distance, waiting for rescue to come. What wouldn't you give now for the groaning sound of the TARDIS? 

With nothing else to do, you decided to lean back and doze a little.

*****

**_This morning, seven hours ago_ **

"Fam! Come take a look at this!" You heard the Doctor shout from some distant room in the TARDIS. You and Yaz had just sat down to have a cuppa but of course there was something new that the Doctor absolutely had to show you. Again.

A certain look passed between the two of you, and you got up and exited the kitchen. 

"Doctor, where are you?" Yaz yelled.

"Just a few doors down the hall and then right at the orange door. Or was it blue? Well and then you need to pass through the lab, but only the first one. Do not go through the second one! You'll sort of have to jump over the small stepping stones in the garden but don’t worry it’s not that hard!"

Judging by the blank look on Yaz's face, she too didn't understand the directions. Instead, you did what you should've done in the first place - just follow her voice.

"Marco!" You shouted, hoping the Doctor would understand.

"Oh! I have never done that before! Polo! Marco Polo is the answer! Did you guys know that his name was not actually Marco Polo but instead it was –"

"Guys, wait for me before I get lost in this maze!" When you turned around you saw Ryan approaching.

"– so instead he chose to rename himself to Marco, and wouldn't you say that it is a much prettier name than Marquart? Anyway, afterwards –"

"Where's Graham?" You asked as the three of you walked through the halls, occasionally stopping at some doors to check if the voice came from the inside or not.

"He was just in the library, and wanted to finish his book. Told me to fill him in later." Ryan smiled fondly. 

You couldn't really hold it against Graham that he decided to stay. The Doctor had done the exact same thing half a dozen times just this past week, always saying that you _absolutely had to see_ whatever she had found. And while you were still awed by the sheer size of the TARDIS and the endless rooms it seemed to contain, nothing could come close to the Doctor's excitement.

"– best mates, the two of us back then. Fantastic merchant. Loved to travel as well. Bit bigoted about women though."

When the three of you finally found the room, you saw the small frame of the Doctor between massive piles of... stuff. To be honest, this room was frighteningly similar to those hoarder's flats you had seen on TV.

"Doctor, you do realise that you're only supposed to call 'Polo' back, not explain his entire backstory, right?" You grinned.

At the sound of your voice, she turned to you with a warm smile. "There you are! Was wondering if you got lost again. Where's Granddad?" 

"He's in the library. Couldn't set down the book he's reading." Ryan shrugged apologetically.

"Well then!" The Doctor clapped her hands together. "Let me introduce you to..." She took a pause for effect before flinging her arms to the side and announcing with all the dramatics in the world, "The Gallifreyan Archives!"

All of you were quiet.

"Come on, let me show you around!" The Doctor said excitedly, obviously not perturbed by your non-existent reactions.

"Haven't seen that stuff in a while! Didn't have time to explore her properly this time around, did I?” The Doctor said fondly while gently stroking a part of the wall. "But would you look at all that! Has been waiting for a millennium for me to find it, and voilà! Oh now that was quite French! Voilà!"

You couldn't help but grin at the Doctor's antics. She had lived for so long and was still excited by small things or find joy in the oddest objects. It was one of the many reasons you lo- you liked her.  
The Doctor grinned back at you, and your heart skipped a beat.

"So what exactly is this room?" Yaz asked, curiosity painting her voice.

"This, dear Yaz, is probably the most extensive collection of goods from Gallifrey!" She took one of your hands and pulled you deeper into the messy room. "Look, here's a space stabilizer and over there is the Marble Paradox!" She pointed to a collection of marbles floating through the room. 

Ryan stepped closer to one of the many mountains of stuff and picked up a little box with some rocks in it.

"Ooohhh time crystals! Good choice, Ryan. Very handy, wouldn't recommend looking at it for too long though." 

Ryan quickly put the innocent looking stones back. 

"What's this then?" You held up a small silver rod.

The Doctor picked it up from your hand. "It's a special monolith. It's compressed into this size with the help of that nifty space compressor over there -" She vaguely pointed into Yaz's direction. "It may look harmless, but put it on the ground and stomp four times and whoosh! A whole monolith will pop up!" Her eyes sparkled with fascination, and you couldn't seem to look away. "You can reverse it as well with another couple of stomps. Don't try it out in here, it'll tear through the TARDIS walls if you're not careful!" 

The Doctor gently handed it back to you.

"So, what exactly is the purpose of a pocket monolith then?"

"You know... The usual. Landmarks. Communication. Watch tower. Love messages. Weapon. Giving shade. Security reasons." She waved her hands around as if she hadn't just told you a bunch of outlandish uses for a monolith. You carefully eyed the tiny monolith before pocketing it carefully. Maybe you could convince the Doctor to try it out later.

"Doctor, why did you bring us here then? Is this the TARDIS' arsenal?" Ryan's eyes lit up.

"No weapons, Ryan! I just thought you might like it. Getting to know a bit more about Gallifrey and all that. Now then, who's ready for an adventure?" 

*****

**_Four hours ago, Styhdiv-7, Circinus Galaxy_ **

You ran as fast as you could, dodging the small tranquilizers they were shooting at you.  
Even though the Doctor always claims she's not getting into trouble on purpose, it was very suspicious how often you ended up in tight spots.

The TARDIS wasn't far from here but you still had to cross the foyer with some expensive artefacts. In fact, they were so expensive that they were guarded with some tricky mechanisms, ultimately ending the person's life if they tried to touch and steal the artefacts.  
In your haste to get away, it was just your luck that you stumbled and accidentally brushed one of them. You didn't even have the time to process the situation, when you were already teleported away.

The terror was written over all of their faces when the fam saw you disappearing without a sound. But worst of all was the Doctor; the Oncoming Storm in her eyes. In a series on clicks, whirrs and shifts, the Doctor did something with her sonic that left the natives suddenly unarmed. She raised her sonic like a weapon against them.

"I will give you one chance. What did you do to my friend?!" 

*****

**_Four hours ago, San Juan County, Utah, Earth_ **

With an almighty gasp you inhaled the dry desert air. You felt like you were just shoved through a straw. Judging by the pounding in your head, your body didn't approve of your recent journey. 

After a few seconds of simple easy breathing you looked around. You saw a barren orange landscape as far as your eyes could see. No Doctor, no way to get back by yourself, maybe some weird, abandoned alien planet. At least you were able to breathe the air, you tried to calm yourself.

You also still had your leather jacket. Thanks to enlarged pockets – courtesy of the Doctor – you were able to put much more stuff, including... 

You gave a cry of delight when your hand touched the small bottle of water and the sandwich that you had packed before leaving the TARDIS. Graham was really spot on with that idea, since the Doctor liked to forget that humans do need the occasional break and sustenance. 

In the other pocket you found some spare change and old receipts. Tapping down the pockets in your jeans, you noticed a small object. In the bright midday sun the tiny monolith gleamed brightly. In all the chaos you had forgotten that you had pocketed it in the first place. 

Okay, (Y/N), don't panic. You can survive here for a while. Maybe. And what had the Doctor said about the monolith before?  
Something about love messages and a watch tower and- and communication! Maybe it can somehow contact the Doctor, so that she knows where you are? 

You shielded your eyes to try and see a bit further around. As far as you could see, there were only these damning orange rocks. No trees or bushes to point you to a water source, no river, and definitely no houses or any other signs of life.

Looking down at the tiny metal rod in your hands, you realised that this thing might be your best shot at survival. Brilliant.

Then it came back to you. _Four stomps to activate the monolith._ It was worth a try. And if you could climb it, you might be a little safer from any animals or other lethal organisms that were living on this planet.

You gently placed the small rod onto the ground. Not certain how far you should step away before activating it, you took ten steps back. 

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

Nothing.

You walked two steps closer and tried again. _Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

Still nothing. 

Your panic grew but you tried to push it down. Maybe you still weren't close enough. Another three steps forward.

_Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp._

The piece of little metal glinted in the sun as if to taunt you. You took another few steps forward and jumped with both feet.

_STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. STOMP._

Your feet barely touched the ground on the last one, when the monolith activated. It shot a good fifteen metres into the sky and grew a metre in width and length before it stopped just as suddenly again. 

The entire thing looked very solid (and very permanent), even though you knew it could be deactivated again. You walked around it once, then another time. There were patterns engraved into the silvery surface, small lines and dots, and larger circles interlocking with each other – the same language that you had seen on the TARDIS before. As you pressed your hand against the surface, you were delighted to find it cool to the touch. At the same time a mechanism clicked into place.

You stood stock-still for a few moments, bracing yourself for something... Something that never came. You carefully removed your hand again, and when still nothing happened, you inspected the metal monument again.

There on the side facing the sun you were able to see that the smooth wall from before now had little depressions and handles. 

A watch tower, you remembered, it can also be used as a watch tower. It took you a good minute to climb it to the top, and to your disappointment you weren't able to see much farther than before.

However, you realised you would be much faster at spotting trouble from above. And with the cool metal on your back, the heat of the sun didn't even seem so bad.

Without anything else to do, you lied down at the top and stared into the blue sky. Almost like home, you thought. Hopefully the Doctor will find me soon.

*****

The fam was brought into an ancient looking office. The manager of this museum pretended to read something for half a minute before looking up. He was made aware of the intruders, who also dared to demand a meeting with him, but that didn't mean he had to comply with the whims of some criminals.

"Yes?" He drawled.

"My friend touched one of your alarm systems and now she's gone! I want to know what you did to her!" A dangerous glint appeared in the Doctor's eyes.

A sneer was written on the small man's face, obviously not aware of the danger of his situation. "Well then our systems once again proved their 100% accuracy. In case you haven’t noticed our numerous awards and certificates, this museum is absolutely theft-proof."

"What. Did. You. Do." The Doctor carefully pronounced every word, fury and disgust blazing in her gaze.

"We've sent her to her home planet of course. Well, we've sent her to the most uninhabitable part of it. Thieves must be punished for their crimes. With a little bit of luck, she might pay for it with her life." The man gave a complacent chuckle. 

The Doctor had been a pacifist for so long, but the sudden urge to slap this vile man, who had just dismissed your life like it was not important, was strong.  
Sensing the shift in the Time Lady’s behaviour, Graham dragged her from the office before she could do anything she would regret.

*****  
**_One hour ago_**

You have been sitting on top of the monolith for a few hours now, and nothing had changed. You hadn't even seen a small animal crawl around, nothing. 

You tried to not let your worries surface too much, but you had a lot of time on your hands, and there was nothing to distract you from your thoughts.

What if the Doctor won't pick up any signals from this thing? What if she didn't appear in the next few hours? Should you pack up the monolith and just walk into a random direction, hope that you'll find something else? Should you try and keep your faith, stay here, hope the Doctor will find you?

What if you never saw the fam again? Graham, who always tried to cheer you up? Or Ryan, whose jokes never failed to make you laugh? Or Yaz, who had become your best friend?

What if you never saw the Doctor again? 

Tears were prickling at the edge of your eyes.

Oh god, what if you died here and you didn't even get the chance to tell her how you feel about her?  
That she's the most amazing person you've ever had the good fortune to meet.  
That she showed you the wonders of life and of space over and over again, that you couldn't help yourself but fall in love with her. 

Despite the warmth you began to shiver, and you prayed to all the deities above to get you out of this alive.

*****

"Most unhabitable place on Earth! That still could be anywhere! Think, Doctor, think think think!"

"Doctor!" Yaz interrupted the spiralling thoughts of the Time Lady. "Can the TARDIS scan for her specifically?" 

"No. Yes! No, well... I could try, but it would pick up all traces of her DNA in the world, including hair follicles and shed skin cells. And with our travels all over this planet, those DNA traces could be everywhere by now."

"Well, it's worth a try, Doc, don't you think?" Graham added.

"What about the metal thing from your Gallifrey room?" Ryan interrupted. "Can't you scan for extraterrestrial stuff?" At the blank look he tried to explain, "In the museum she told me she still had it in her pocket, hoping to convince you to let her try it out."

A large smile spread over the Doctor's face, lightening up the whole console room. "Yes, Ryan, I can definitely scan for that! Maybe I can even scan for Gallifreyan origin only, then we’ll find her in no time!" 

*****

A wheezing and groaning sound filled the endless silence. Immediately you woke from your light nap and looked around frantically, searching for the blue box that meant so much more than Home to you.

And there, a good two hundred meters away the TARDIS appeared.

A laugh escaped your lungs when you saw the Doctor, then Yaz, Ryan and Graham storming out, their backs to your position.

"(Y/N)!" 

There was a distinct frantic note in the Doctor's voice.

"I'm here! I'm here!" You yelled as loud as you could and waved like a crazy person from the top of your monolith. At the sound of your voice, your fam turned around. You heard the Doctor laughing and saw the others grinning at you.

Before anything could be said further, the Doctor already started sprinting towards you. 

You climbed down as quickly as you could, accidentally banging your knees multiple times against the steel. But it was of no importance, because you were saved. The Doctor came and you were safe.

As soon as your feet hit the ground, you were running towards the woman you loved with all your heart. The Doctor's grin got wider with each step you got closer to each other.

The two of you collided in a hug, laughing and smiling, and pressing the other as close as physically possible. Suddenly a sob wretched itself from the Doctor's throat.

"I thought you were dead! I thought you died when you touched it! One second you were running and the next you were just gone!" She desperately clung to your form.

"Shhh. It's alright. I'm here, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." 

You carefully unwounded yourself from the tight grip, just enough to lean back to look into the Doctor's eyes and smiled at her. She was scanning your features as if you burn it into her memory. 

"I- I thought I would never see you again, I thought it was my fault." Her gaze stopped on your lips, seemingly transfixed by the sight. You tried to swallow but your mouth was dry, so you licked your lips, and you heard the slight catch in the Doctor’s breath. 

Carefully you placed one of your hands at the side of her face. You let your eyes wander to her lips, dragged them back up again, just to see wide eyes looking back at you. Her hazel-green eyes had darkened considerably as the black of the pupil had taken over.

Hoping you were reading the signs right, you angled your face properly and leaned in slowly, giving her time to draw back and stopped a mere hairbreadth before your lips met.

Your shaky breaths mixed, and the nervousness was tangible.

"Are you sure?" she asked, your lips already grazing from the movement. You nodded. Another soft touch of your lips.

Then suddenly a hand was running through your hair and pulled and you were crashing into the Doctor's lips. 

It was sloppy and messy and soft and your heart soared. It felt like you've come home. You placed your other hand on the Time Lady’s hips, pulling her impossibly closer.

"About time!" Yaz hollered, effectively breaking up the kiss. You stared in the Doctor’s eyes and saw her eyes looking back with the same intensity. You heard Yaz and Ryan high-fiving in the distance, but you were too focused on the entrancing sight right in front of you to care about anything else. You started grinning again and saw her grinning back, a tender look still in her eyes. You felt like shouting out with the happiness you felt. The Doctor pressed another quick kiss to your lips before breaking away. 

"Come on, you lot. I think we should celebrate!" The Doctor cheered and pulled you towards the TARDIS. 

She didn't let go of your hand for the rest of the day, and soon the celebration winded down and the others went to their respective rooms.  
And in the quiet you finally allowed yourself to make good of your promise – and finally let your heart speak for itself, telling the wonderful Time Lady what you have been feeling for so long.

When the TARDIS finally groaned out of existence, the monolith was still standing in its spot. Forgotten by the time travellers, it would tell the story about your faith and love to those who would be willing to listen.

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best work, but I'd be really happy about some feedback or kudos (:


End file.
